Thinking of carrying and have a concern

So I just received my CCW permit and I'm eager to carry and take defensive pistol classes. Mine and my wife's concern is our 2 year old son. He's very curious and if he feels things in my pocket he's digging for it. The thing is that he's the reason I feel I want to carry. I never want to be in a position to where I can't protect my family. I've started to see the world in a different light due recent events and my love for my family. I realize that there are bad people in the world and the can surface any where at any time. I want to carry concealed, but worry about my son being curious and is too young to understand. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

There are many good holster manufacturers out there. Check the members for recommendations, you will not be disappointed.

Always wear your pistol, keep it in your possession. The biggest risk with children is when you do not have actual possession of your pistol. If you are carrying it, the kid is not playing with it. You are always responsible for it.

Welcome, and thanks for taking your self protection seriously.

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So I just received my CCW permit and I'm eager to carry and take defensive pistol classes. Mine and my wife's concern is our 2 year old son. He's very curious and if he feels things in my pocket he's digging for it. The thing is that he's the reason I feel I want to carry. I never want to be in a position to where I can't protect my family. I've started to see the world in a different light due recent events and my love for my family. I realize that there are bad people in the world and the can surface any where at any time. I want to carry concealed, but worry about my son being curious and is too young to understand. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

If I'm reading this right it sounds like you might be asking how to carry and keep a firearm without your son geting a hold of it.

I guess one consideration I'd have is to put it in an electronic lock box at home when you walk in the door. That way it would be locked up, yet you and your wife could get to it if need be.

You mentioned that your son likes to fish around in your pockets. I certainly wouldn't pocket carry without a holster. If you carry IWB or OWB carry the pistol on one side and your son on the other if need be. Maybe, even with a thumb snap retention holster.

Your dilemma reminds me of one of the lines Gallagher the comedian use to use. I'm paraphrasing him, but it went something like, "When your child is born you count all their fingers and toes in hopes they have all of them. When they turn two you wish they were born without arms or legs."

If you don't pocket carry sounds like you'll be fine. Get a crossbreed and be done with it

Sent from my iPhone... which probably auto-corrected something wrong

Exactly, a good quality holster will solve that problem for you. However I especially like your idea of taking shooting and carrying classes. If you take classes from a good well known qualified individual or organization the knowledge you learn will go a long way to giving you the confidence to carry and protect your family.

Getting in a habit of putting away your handgun in a handgun safe at home will keep the little one from ever accessing it and givers you piece of mind.

JM2C, HR

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carry in a holster that has retention. Put your gun in a lockable nightstand drawer when you are home. Secure any guns that aren't you on you in a gunsafe when out of the house. That way your gun is still accesible for HD when you are home and out of reach of your child.

I'll check out the CB holsters. I've always been aware of and have owned firearms since I was a teen. 37 now. Just new to the firearm with a child and most of the safety items are common sense to me. The gun safe is on its way. I ordered a Gun Vault last week. Have any of you guys needed to make any certain adjustments other than locking the firearm up when at home or dealt with carrying and having little kids? I guess I'm looking for learning experiences or changes in carrying habits to adjust to the new lifestyle.

I have pocket carried my Kahr MK9 lots of times with my AHolster pocket holster.

Excellent Kydex pocket carry.

I also use a CBST for my G26, K9 and MK9. Each has it's place in the rotation.

My kid is also curious about stuff. At 2 she would complaint about my holster digging into her side, I just made a habit of keeping her on my non-gun side. Pocket carry was an issue for a bit, (she loves to sit in my lap) so I went to IWB 90%.

I have three safes in the house. Guns are always locked up or on me. She used to be really curious about what was in the safe, and why I put "stuff" in my belt every morning. I let her look at a non-functioning airsoft M9. Excellent reproduction gun. I explained firearm safety and to never touch a gun unless I am the one showing it to her. Also if she sees a gun tell me and never touch it, unless I say so. (Mom is not gun proficient, so it is my call) She shoots archery now, BB guns are ready to go if she gets tired of the bow. Very safe, always.

When she was really little she would try and look in my pocket or at my belt/IWB rig. A sharp NO did not suffice, so a quick flick on the forehead and a sharper NO did. She asks now before she reaches for anything in my pockets.

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I practised that method, and carried all the time like that for a couple years. I even shot IDPA type stuff like that.

One concern I had is if I fell down and hit my head and was unconscious, and the kid started to see what was wrong with me or whatever. There are a lot of hours in a day, and days in a year. If you actually carry all the time, stuff happens. I estimated the odds of me needing the quicker advantage of being chambered as being less likely than needing to prevent a child caused AD.

As he was growing, I also taught him gun safety. Eventually I made the switch back to chambered carry, when I thought I could trust him.

You as the parent have to do what you think is best for you and your family in whatever your own particular situation is

The necessity for you to own a gun safe is obvious. Less obvious is the need for you to keep your Glock in C-3.

(C-3 carry is NOT the big disadvantage so many people seem to think. Your chances of being suddenly ambushed at close quarters are extremely low - Far less than the likelihood of an ND around you home or family if you don't exercise increased caution and use your head.)

Time to teach the kid about guns. It is never to early, my dads guns were on the shelf in his closet, we all knew they were there but never touched them without permission. If you keep them a mystery he will want to play with them.

I have a two year old son and have been carrying since shortly after I found out my wife was pregnant. Before I even bought my first pistol, I bought two pistol safes. My CCW is either in a very substantial holster bolted to my belt or locked in the safe.

When at home I usually lock my pistol up. If I don't have it locked it is because I'm getting ready to go out... in which case it is concealed anyway so my son rarely would even see it.

I carry in hard kydex holsters that have a fairly still pull required to unholster the pistol. (Think Raven concealment). There is no way he would be able to get to my pistol without me knowing about it and stopping him first.

One tip though: Whenever the weapon isn't holstered or locked, I make sure my son isn't in the same room with me and I actually lock him out of the room while holstering.

Re-holstering is one of the most dangerous moments where a negligent discharge is most likely. I want to be sure that there is no chance that my son could be close by should such a situation occur.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blk88

So I just received my CCW permit and I'm eager to carry and take defensive pistol classes. Mine and my wife's concern is our 2 year old son. He's very curious and if he feels things in my pocket he's digging for it. The thing is that he's the reason I feel I want to carry. I never want to be in a position to where I can't protect my family. I've started to see the world in a different light due recent events and my love for my family. I realize that there are bad people in the world and the can surface any where at any time. I want to carry concealed, but worry about my son being curious and is too young to understand. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Many of us have carried our infants and firearms at the same time. One of them goes in a decent holster that cover the trigger; the other is usually open carried. They are far from being mutually exclusive. While nothing can be too idiotproofed, a very affordable safe will keep your young ones and firearms apart when unattended.

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One concern I had is if I fell down and hit my head and was unconscious, and the kid started to see what was wrong with me or whatever. There are a lot of hours in a day, and days in a year. If you actually carry all the time, stuff happens. I estimated the odds of me needing the quicker advantage of being chambered as being less likely than needing to prevent a child caused AD.

Do you fall down a lot? I am not being sarcastic, I am genuinely curious why you felt that falling down and becoming unconscious was a more likely scenario than needing the gun for SD. I had never thought about that before, but I guess if you had a medical conditon that affected your balance or some such, that might be a valid concern.

To OP, keep your current level of concern about gun safety and your child, and you will be fine. Keep the gun on you at all times that it is not in the safe. Start teaching the child now and constantly reinforce the rules without fail. YOu will be a good gun carrier, and a good dad!

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#1 - stop that kid's behavior now. And if he dive intp purses, nip that in the bud.

#2 - if the gun is not on you, in a holster, put it in a lock box and lock it.

#3 - I am not a big advocate of chambering/clearing a weapon often, so you might consider locking up your outdoor gun when you come home, and carrying an indoor gun with the chamber empty. You don't really want your kid, or anyone else, firing your gun.

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